WhY is ~DiSnEy~ so CROWDED in *FeBrUaRy*?????

I've been watching the boards the last few weeks & have noticed a LOT of posts on how CROWDED all the parks have been & how long wait times are for rides!!! I just don't get it!! Do you think this is because MANY of the people are on the FREE DINING PROMO that ends March 7th????? That's all I can think of. We've done FREE DINING in Sept. 2007, 2009 & 2011 & even at THAT time never experienced wait times such as those that are being posted. We are going May 4-12 are are PAYING for dining this time around (really goes against my grain to do this) but I'm hoping & PRAYING that the parks aren't as busy as NOW since the FREE DINING promo & SPRING BREAK will be over. UGH!!!

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WDW is traditionally not very busy in early February, but the pace picks up around the middle of the month. There is the long Federal holiday for many folks and Spring Break for many others. I would think this weekend is indeed "lively".

I grew up in Mass and lived in NH for 10 years before moving to NC last year. Mass and NH both have school vacations in Feb, the last two weeks of the month. This was when the bulk of my friends/family would travel to Disney - it was the best way to avoid the snow. Summers were never good times to head down because ofthe crowds and the extreme heat compared to new England summers.

We just got back and it really wasn't that bad. Sure from about 12-4 it was very busy but if you just get there at opening you should be okay. It felt a lot slower than when we were there in May. There seemed to be a lot of Brazilian groups and groups from Louisiana but it felt absolutely manageable!

Why so busy? Massive cheerleading and dance competitions + Massive South American Tour Groups + Mardis Gras which is an extended holiday for many states in driving or quick flying distance. And then we have Presidents Week which has always been mentioned as being very busy since I have been a member of these boards. That brings is very significant numbers. And finally the Tinkerbell half marathon which will not jam the parks much, but I am sure many people make a family vacation out of it.

Let's not forget the new Fantasyland is a big draw and local visitors on the weekends.

The thing is, when I planned my 2011 trip everyone said how busy most of the month was going to be because of most of these factors. And they were right. It was also reflected in all of the crowd calendars. Save for a string of days here or there, the crowd predictions for this month have been the same. So I don't know why there have been so many more posts about how busy it was, but I would imagine some of that has to do with people assuming it was going to be quiet.

My sons' old high school band is leaving for WDW in about 4 hours. I was part of the last two trips and did almost all the planning for the one 3 years ago.

The other two trips were a week later and had much lower crowds (3's maybe a 4)

I have been giving them pointers about the trip and the biggest one was get there early. Its a small group and only one bus but the last day at DHS the director lets them sleep in and they only get to the park around 10:00 .

For their Epcot day they have a class in the morning and maybe are done by 12:30.

We're flyout out Sat Feb 23rd for 10 days. We're now following easywdw touring/crowd calender and avoiding the EMH parks like the plague. (which so goes against my train of thought. ) Last time we went, EMHours were pure heaven! But.. that was 8 years ago. Hoping his crowd calender and suggested parks works. We're also packing for temps anywhere from 40-85 degrees. Hoping for the best!

We're flyout out Sat Feb 23rd for 10 days. We're now following easywdw touring/crowd calender and avoiding the EMH parks like the plague. (which so goes against my train of thought. ) Last time we went, EMHours were pure heaven! But.. that was 8 years ago. Hoping his crowd calender and suggested parks works. We're also packing for temps anywhere from 40-85 degrees. Hoping for the best!

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We leave the night before. I think we'll be good with the strategy you mentioned. The weekends are going to feel busier but the rest of the week should be good according to the research I did. Plus I have been this week in 2011 and it was the only week that month that wasn't too bad.

Feb is a lot of things. I think the cheap window ends this past weekend, up north here everybody is on vacation, and then there's the various holiday weekends that tend to bump up attendance, as well as the general draw that is the new FL. Then the Flower and Garden thing starts up, more vacations, etc etc.

There is no widespread Free Dining promotion running right now that I have seen or heard of, so it's not that. Free dining will not be a widespread promotion this year, with the possible exception of September.

Feb is a lot of things. I think the cheap window ends this past weekend, up north here everybody is on vacation, and then there's the various holiday weekends that tend to bump up attendance, as well as the general draw that is the new FL. Then the Flower and Garden thing starts up, more vacations, etc etc.

There is no widespread Free Dining promotion running right now that I have seen or heard of, so it's not that. Free dining will not be a widespread promotion this year, with the possible exception of September.

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We are booked with a FD pin code, but I agree, I doubt there were enough of them to really have much of an impact.

We are booked with a FD pin code, but I agree, I doubt there were enough of them to really have much of an impact.

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Yeah, I booked in Jan with a FD pin, but those weren't widespread. Not even the BB offer was FD, it was 30% savings. Judging by crowds, they don't need the widespread FD this year. I know we were told it'd be seriously cut back to nonexistent for this year and next.

We live about 1 1/2 hrs from Disney, and I know of quite a few things going on that may be affecting crowds:

#1 - There is an awesome FL resident deal going on right now ($119/3 day 0r $129/4 day & 15%-35% off rooms) that they are advertising the HECK out of on every local media outlet. It's good until June 3, w/only a couple of blackout dates. Combine that w/tax return season and you'll have an increase in crowds. It's why we're going, and I know of a bunch of other "locals" who are taking advantage of it too.

#2 - Most of the local school's have a 4-day weekend this week, so I'm sure there will be larger crowds because of this (which is why we're going next week lol).

#3 - Starbound's Orlando dance/talent national competition is March 2 & 3, which is drawing ALL the local dance teams Dd's studio's competition team is taking almost 30+ girls, plus parents, teachers, etc and they are planning on doing Disney. There's a bunch of other studios going too.

#4 - While our district doesn't go on Spring Break for awhile (end of March), when I called to request a room w/a view at our hotel I was told they're already getting Spring Break-ers!

#5 - As others have said...Brazilian Tour Groups

Just a few things that I personally know of that are probably drawing larger-than-normal crowds...

We just got back and it really wasn't that bad. Sure from about 12-4 it was very busy but if you just get there at opening you should be okay. It felt a lot slower than when we were there in May. There seemed to be a lot of Brazilian groups and groups from Louisiana but it felt absolutely manageable!

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We just got back too... I noticed a TON of Louisiana families. Then realized that it was Mardi Gras week and Louisiana kids were off from school last week. Easter is early this year so that may effect people's vacations? We noticed MK was especially crowded our first day (2/9) but we figured it was bc it was a Saturday. We decided to never do MK on a weekend again.

Also, there was a big high school cheerleading competition when we arrived- LOTS of happy (loud) cheerleaders everywhere.

Edited to add: We asked at guest services if we were able to use the pool at a different resort and we were told that starting this week (Feb 16th) pool sharing is not an option. The Disney season changes this week also.